Hispanic American Diversity Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 2

Hispanic American Diversity - Essay Example For example, some groups use the word "sopa" to refer to a food item while the rest use it to denote soap. The unique geo-political circumstances of different Spanish speaking regions have contributed to the formation of regional dialects. For instance, Mexico being close to the United States of America has resulted in the importation of English words into common usage. So much so that, some cultural commentators call the Mexican language as Spanglish. (Hope Cheong, 2006) Of all the four groups, Mexican Americans stand out in terms of their involvement in mainstream American politics. The dissenting voices of Mexican Americans were first heard during the civil rights movement of the 1960s. Although African Americans were predominantly seen as the leaders of the movement, significant contributions were made by such Mexican American luminaries as V.Mendoza, Reies Lopez Tijerina and Rodolfo Gonzales. Their political activism ranged from basic rights for farm workers to rights of electoral franchise at all levels of governance. (Jokisch, 2006) Parallels could be observed in Puerto Rican American history as well. One of the more recent immigrants to the country, Puerto Ricans are poorly represented in politics. However, to their credit, they succeeded in forming trade unions to demand for worker rights during the second half of the twentieth century. Given such an initiation, it is only natural that their worker movement graduated into a socialist one. Given the strong capitalist roots in America, this movement did not make much impact though. Any description of Cuban Americans will have to be made in the context of Cubas hostile political relation with the United States. The primary reason for migration to their more affluent neighboring country is economic opportunity. Yet, the totalitarian and sometimes repressive regime of Fidel Castro would mean that the migrants are also

Race, culture and identity ( social policy and criminology) Essay

Race, culture and identity ( social policy and criminology) - Essay Example As Song (2001, p.58) suggests, this kind of grouping not only designates racial groups to a specific role in the society, but it also puts the minor groups into the shadow and subordination to the so-called â€Å"major† ethnic groups. Relatively, this racial and ethnic positioning also puts the â€Å"other† race into confusion as they become burdened by the nature of their identity. Racism, as a social problem, needs to be remedied to help the marginalised race overcome the barriers of color (A. Smedely and B. Smedley, 2005, p.16). In this way, people will be able to understand ethnic and racial identities as well as appreciate the significance of cultural diversity today (Frable, 1997, pp.142-143). Considering these ideas, this paper draws on scholarly articles to discuss the intertwining concepts of race, ethnicity, and identity. Specifically, this paper aims to discuss those concepts in relation to the â€Å"Black† subject. The Black subject stems from issues related to race, ethnicity, and identity. As Blacks and those who are considered non-white continue to suffer from racial and ethnic tensions worldwide, issues on race, ethnicity, and identity will continue to prevail in the society. Considering this situation, it can be said that studying these concepts would enable people to understand the nature of the Black subject, and the reason why it came into being. Before discussing the origin of the Black subject, it is essential to understand the concepts of race, ethnicity, and identity. These three concepts interrelate in a way that people use those to identify and differentiate themselves. The concept of identity, in the words of Brubaker and Cooper (2000, p.7), refers to three things: 1) product of socio-political action, 2) self-hood, and 3) group category. All these three aspects apply in the context of the Black subject. Black, as a group category,